US6055508A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method for secure accounting and auditing on a communications network
Assignee: Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd
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Filing: 1998-06-05
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Granted: 2000-04-25
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Expires: 2018-06-05
Abstract
Abstract A method for secure accounting and auditing of a communications network operates in an environment in which many servers serve an even larger number of clients (e.g. the web), and are required to meter the interaction between servers and clients (e.g. counting the number of clients that were served by a server). The method (metering process) is very efficient and does not require extensive usage of any new communication channels. The metering is secure against fraud attempts by servers which inflate the number of their clients and against clients that attempt to disrupt the metering process. Several secure and efficient constructions of this method are based on efficient cryptographic techniques, are also very accurate, and preserver the privacy of the clients.
Inventors
- 👤 Moni Naor
- 👤 Binyamin Pinkas
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 04:29
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/06; G06Q10/063; G06Q10/0639; H; H04; H04L; H04L41/00; H04L41/28; H04L43/00; H04L9/00; H04L9/32; H04L9/321; H04L9/3271; H04L2209/00; H04L2209/42; H04L2209/56; H04L2209/80; H04L2209/805; H04L43/02; H04L43/022; H04L43/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
220 words
A method for secure accounting and auditing of a communications network, said network having at least one server, a plurality of clients, and at least one audit-agency, the method comprising the steps of: initializing, beginning of a metered time frame, interacting with a client, and processing at end of time frame; wherein: (a.) initializing includes an audit-agency choosing a substantially random key and said audit-agency securely sending, to each server and to each client, data that depends on at least said key and on identity-data of the server or the client receiving said sending; (b.) beginning of a metered time frame includes the audit-agency sending a challenge to at least one server; (c.) interacting with a client, of said initialized clients, includes firstly a server sending to the client a challenge which depends on at least the challenge that the server received from the audit-agency, and secondly the client replying with an answer that is computationally dependant on the challenge that said client received and on information that said client received in its initialization step; and (d.) processing at end of time frame includes firstly a server performing a computation which depends on at least the answers said server received from clients, and secondly sending to the audit-agency a compact proof for the number of clients served by said server.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
220 words
A method for secure accounting and auditing of a communications network, said network having at least one server, a plurality of clients, and at least one audit-agency, the method comprising the steps of: initializing, beginning of a metered time frame, interacting with a client, and processing at end of time frame; wherein: (a.) initializing includes an audit-agency choosing a substantially random key and said audit-agency securely sending, to each server and to each client, data that depends on at least said key and on identity-data of the server or the client receiving said sending; (b.) beginning of a metered time frame includes the audit-agency sending a challenge to at least one server; (c.) interacting with a client, of said initialized clients, includes firstly a server sending to the client a challenge which depends on at least the challenge that the server received from the audit-agency, and secondly the client replying with an answer that is computationally dependant on the challenge that said client received and on information that said client received in its initialization step; and (d.) processing at end of time frame includes firstly a server performing a computation which depends on at least the answers said server received from clients, and secondly sending to the audit-agency a compact proof for the number of clients served by said server.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein sending to the client a challenge is accomplished implicitly by computations of the servers and of the clients.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein sending to the server a challenge is accomplished implicitly by computations of the audit-agency and of the servers.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
160 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein a proof for the number of clients served, being K clients visiting a server S in a time period T, includes: (e.) in the initializing, the audit-agency generating a random polynomial Q(x,y) over a predetermined finite field Zp, of degree k-1 in x and d-1 in y; and each client C receiving the polynomial Qc(y)=P(C,y) which is constructed from P by substituting C for x, and is of degree d-1 in y; (f.) such that a client C that visits server S at data t sends a value Qc(St)=P(C,ST) wherein St is a function of S and t, in Zp; (g.) and a proof generation includes, for the polynomial P(x,St), after serving k clients in time period T, S interpolating the polynomial and calculating P(0,St); (h.) and a proof of serving k clients in time period T by the audit-agency includes verifying this value by evaluating the polynomial P at a predetermined location.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the computational dependency of the challenge is based on hash trees.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the computational dependency of the challenge is based on pricing-via-processing.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the computational dependency of the challenge is based on secure function evaluation.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the computational dependency of the challenge is based on micro-payments.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the computational dependency of the challenge is based on secret sharing.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 9 wherein error-correcting properties are used to reconstruct the secret.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
53 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the interacting includes a client sending a share to a server, said server evaluating a polynomial of degree d-1 wherein said evaluating uses a computation requiring d multiplications using Horner's rule, and said evaluating is performed in a field Zp wherein 1/p is the error probability.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method according to claim 11 wherein the field Zp is set to be 32 bits long.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method according to claim 11 wherein the field Zp is set to be with 2 32 -5 elements.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method according to claim 11 wherein the field Zp is set to be a Galois field with 2 32 elements.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the clients are divided at random into n classes, and wherein the server is asked to prove a predetermined number of visits from a random class.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the clients are divided at random into n classes, and wherein the server is asked to prove a predetermined number of visits from at least one predetermined class.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein a number of measurements in which the method is used is of the same order as d, the degree of y in P, times the number of classes n.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
61 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein interacting includes a server counting client turnover or counting visits by clients of a predetermined audience or counting requests for royalty-payment-requiring-property or counting requests for an access-cost payment-service by a third party or counting coupons received from clients; and wherein processing at end of time frame includes a proof for any of said countings.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein a server verifies the answer received from the client.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein a client's answer has a domain that is unknown to the server.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the computational dependency of the challenge is based on quorum systems.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-04-25 | 2003-10-25 | 2004-04-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-04-25 | 2007-10-25 | 2008-04-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-04-25 | 2011-10-25 | 2012-04-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |